Fourth ward alderman Brendon Gallagher will vacate his aldermanic seat at the end of this term, but he may not be done running for office permanently.

Gallagher was elected to his seat on City Council in 2009. Over the last four years, he has consistently brought his financial background and good sense to improve the state of the city, said Mayor Kris Povlsen, who sits to Gallager’s left at City Council meetings.

“He brings a very excellent perspective on overall budgeting and the fiscal impact of everything the city engages in,” Povlsen said. “He was instrumental in turning the budget around the last four years.”

Gallagher said he’s most proud of the role he played in turning the city’s budget around and taking steps to make DeKalb a better place to do business.

“If I had to look back, there are a couple things that stand out, but I’d have to say that building up our balance sheet from where we were at the beginning with $26,000 to $20 million is a huge accomplishment…,” Gallagher said. “I like when we outsourced our legal council. We saved a big chunk of money. I like when we rewrote the entire liquor code…. We made the code much more clear to understand.”

Povlsen sits to Gallagher’s left at City Council meetings. Third ward alderman Kristen Lash, who sits to Gallagher’s right at City Council meetings, said Gallagher has a good sense of humor to complement his expertise.

“He definitely makes the meetings a lot more interesting,” Lash said. “He really has a great financial mind, too. He and I have been on the opposite sides with a lot of issues, but I’ve always respected his advice, and when it comes to financial matters, he and [second ward alderman] Tom [Teresinski] are usually the ones I seek out.”

Povlsen said Gallagher was good at bringing humor to issues and offered a different view.

“He might make a comment related to, ‘Do we really need to pontificate as much as we do?’” Povlsen said. “I think he always looked at all the issues seriously, but he brought a sense of humor to the council that put things into perspective, too.”

Gallagher said the best part of being an alderman is the feeling of accomplishment knowing you’ve made a positive difference.

“My most favorite part would probably be the fact that, when you actually have a goal and decide to focus on something that will better the community in the long run, to see something come through to fruition, and it makes a better community,” Gallagher said. “I like to get a project and finish a project…. It’s like finishing a big homework assignment.”

In his time as alderman, Gallagher has supported efforts to make DeKalb more friendly for cyclists, from “sharrows,” which are line markings on a road, to construction of bike paths, which Lash thinks is something he should be proud of. Gallagher said the sharrow concept came from seeing them while he was on vacation. The original concept was to connect all the bike paths in DeKalb. He was trying to create a designated road for bicycles.

Povlsen said Gallagher knows the city well.

“He also was very intuitive with issues that others may not have looked at or brought forward…,” Povlsen said. “He would really do an excellent job of follow through, research and educating the public as well as council and staff so we could move forward in a positive way. His attention to detail is outstanding.”

With the extra time he’ll gain from leaving his post, Gallagher said he has other things he wants to give extra attention to.

“I’m going to focus on my work and focus on my family,” Gallagher said. “I’ll continue to grow my financial advisory practice I have. I’ve been doing that now for about 14 years. That background has helped me immensely.”

Povlsen said he believes Gallagher will be missed by the city and the council.

“I’ll remember him every time I see a sharrow on the road,” Povlsen said.

Povlsen thinks Gallagher may be back in the spotlight at some point in the future.

“I predict he’ll be back someday, as a mayoral candidate or back in his aldermanic seat,” Povlsen said. “Once his family obligations are diminished a bit, he’ll be back. I see him running for mayor someday.”

When Gallagher was asked if he has any intention of running for office again someday, he offered little information.

“You never know,” Gallagher said.